photos and descriptions of what makes our world a pleasure
emphasis on Florida and the Tampa Bay area but also far beyond

HOLIDAYS

Spring!

March 21, 2009

click here for larger image Spring officially began yesterday at 7:44am. But those of us with allergies, especially oak allergies, already knew it was here. My apologies for the brevity of this morning’s post, but my army of antihistamines, decongestants, cough syrups, eye drops, expectorants, and analgesics has been totally overwhelmed by this year’s high [...]

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An Irish feast

March 14, 2009

click here for larger image FRESH IRISH SCONES A number of years ago there was a tiny book, How the Irish Saved Civilization (Hinges of History), that enjoyed a surprising success at sales. Its success seemed unlikely because it was a book on a rather narrow aspect of culture and history written by an academic [...]

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The Year of the Ox

February 14, 2009
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(Note: all the individual pictures in this post link to larger images in Flickr; just click on the smaller images you see here.) “Chinese New Year” was this past January 26th. It falls on a different day every year in our calendar system (the Gregorian calendar) because the “Chinese New Year” is based on the [...]

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Spreading around the love

February 11, 2009

click here for larger image PASTRIES AT MAZZARO’S If you have a significant other, you probably already have thought through what you’ll get as a Valentine’s Day gift. Sometimes, though, it’s fun to spread the love around on Valentine’s Day to folks you care about beyond that special someone. Remember getting all those little paper [...]

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Low Tide

December 31, 2008
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seashell exposed by the low tide After all the holidays there’s an emotional let-down. The money is a little tighter due to special expenses. There’s physical and mental exhaustion. We are depleted in almost every way. We are experiencing “low tide.” The human mind seem hard-wired to notice patterns, to have creative interpretations of the [...]

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Happy New Year Software Upgrade

December 28, 2008

click here to see image on Flickr MR. EGGPLANT SAYS HAPPY NEW YEAR! (I found Mr. Eggplant at the Gulfport Tuesday Morning Market.) Beginning Monday, December 29th, Inkwatu will be undergoing a major technical revamping: the installation of completely new blogging software. The address (http://inkwatu.com) will remain exactly the same. This transition won’t affect the [...]

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Yule & Saturnalia Feasts

December 27, 2008

Please see definitions for Yule and Saturnalia. Two brief quotes: “Yule is a winter festival identified with Christmas in modern times. The pagan Germanic peoples celebrated Yule from late December to early January on a date determined by the lunar Germanic calendar. When the Julian calendar was adopted in northern Europe, Yule was placed on [...]

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Season’s Greetings

December 24, 2008
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  As if you haven’t already endured an unrelenting lashing of holiday music in stores and from the media, here’s three more free selections from my pipe organ mp3 album on Amazon of carol arrangements of mine published by Concordia, “Cherry Tree Carol”, “What Child Is This,” and “Oh Come All Ye Faithful.” Hope you [...]

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Quick Breads

December 20, 2008
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click here to see larger image BANANA BREAD A couple weeks ago I caught the holiday spirit and started making quick breads to give friends as gifts. I’d never really made them before and I was delighted to discover that they’re very easy to make. They make the home smell terrific and people love it [...]

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Winter Light

November 1, 2008
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WINTER STORM AT ST. PETE BEACH   Although winter, technically, begins on the solstice and ends on the equinox, in Ireland, November 1st is considered the first day of winter, probably because, in the ancient Celtic tradition, Samhain marked the beginning of November and the beginning of winter. (Note: there’s a free Samhain mp3 in [...]

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Samhain

October 29, 2008

  Two years ago, as part of a FloriMezzo Halloween concert at the Palladium here in St. Pete, I played the famous J.S. Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor on their beautifully restored 1926 Skinner pipe organ. The portrait above is how I appeared before the audience. Obviously, I’m a ham who knows no [...]

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Independence Day

July 2, 2008
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Kona Sunset This is more of a Memorial Day, rather than an Independence Day, poem; but, in these times, it seems appropriate: For The Fallen (excerpt) They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and [...]

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